Sunlight
by Alice Ryter
Summary: When your life goes up in flames, what do you do? In Roxas' case, not much. But can a certain fiery redhead change all that? AkuRoku, past HaynerRoxas. The rating might change later on.
1. Prologue

OH MY FUCKING GOD. My first post, and I couldn't be more proud!

Well, maybe if it won of those Mr. Cookies book awards. Or whatever the fuck they're called. I'm writing this with no prompts, no prior planning, and no idea what the fuck I'm doing, so don't expect _too_ much. Hope you enjoy!

* * *

I was thirteen when it happened. And now two years have passed and I'm fifteen, _fifteen _years old, and already I'm like this, an emotional train wreck who never leaves the house anymore. Sora comes around sometimes. He tries to cheer me up, but he usually leaves as soon as I throw something at him. Last time I threw a lamp, and he had to get three stitches in his forehead.

I can't help but feel a little bit bad about that.

Sora's my twin brother. He's a good kid, I guess, but he just doesn't know when to give up.

I feel a little bit bad about that, too.

Sora and I... we lived separately for a few years. While he was off studying in who-knows-where, I just stayed in Twilight Town. It was quiet, just another boring little town where nothing ever happened. But I had friends-

_-Hayner, Pence, Olette, I miss you so much-_

-And I was happy. Happy, and I took it for granted.

I think that's what I feel worst about.

I've been hiding away inside my dusty old house for so long that I don't even remember what it's like to be outside. No- that's a lie. I remember every day. I remember being with Hayner, and playing darts, laughing because we missed _every time_, while Pence cheered us on from the couch and Olette hounded us about our _stupid fucking homework_ even though she knew we weren't going to do it.

I remember hanging out on top of the station tower, and eating sea-salt ice cream, _kissing Hayner_, and watching the sun set- and not once did I stop and notice how fucking _beautiful _it all was. And now it's too late.

_-And I miss you; I miss you all so much and I'm __sorry__, please forgive me-_

It's been _too late_ for a long time now.

* * *

Well, I hope you enjoyed that. No, it's not a one-shot. I still have to introduce _Axel_, for crying out loud! I'm hoping I can post a new chapter, like… once a week? Awesome. Now, press that little button that says "review". Come on. You know you want to.


	2. Chapter 1

I'm back! And I have a totally legit reason as to why I haven't posted, too. See, this is a pretty angsty fic, (In the beginning, anyways), and I have recently acquired a boyfriend. Now, I'm not sure if you've ever tried, but writing an angst fic when you're in a love struck daze is damn near _impossible_. So, yeah. That's my reason for being so late.

On another note, I also received my first ever subscription (or story alert, or whatever.) I was so thrilled that someone wanted to read more... It totally made my week. Year. Life. Whatever. A huge thank-you to BeccaBear93, for boosting my ego times ten, and inspiring and motivating me to finish this chapter!

Love ya!

* * *

**Part 1- Roxas**

I'm startled from my memories by a knock on the door. I can hear Sora calling me, his voice muffled by the door.

"Roxas?" He calls, "You there?" Of course I'm here. I'm always here. And somewhere in the back of my head, a little voice is begging me to leave. Go out, _go somewhere_. And it scares me.

"Yeah." I move to answer the door.

"Hey, Roxas. You doing okay?" His lean arms are laden with grocery bags, head tilted slightly to the left. He steps inside and grins, giving the distinct impression of an eager puppy.

"…Yeah."

"Uh...huh. You want me to bring these to the kitchen?" He asks, indicating the grocery bags.

"Ah, sure." He's gone and putting things away before I can finish my sentence- he knows his way around this house better than I do. I make my way over to the couch- I'm tired, I don't

know why.

"Roxas?" I start- how long has he been standing there?

"Um, Roxas… I'm getting kind of worried about you." He moves to sit next to me, leaning towards me and gently placing his hand on my knee.

"…Right." I look down- I can't meet his eyes, especially when I know what's coming next.

"Roxas, you should get out more. I mean… you haven't left the house in a long time, so… look, I'll buy you lunch or something, okay?" I flinch as he moves closer- I can't do it, and he knows it.

"Roxas?" He knows I won't answer- we've been through this a lot.

"…Sorry." The apology in my voice is enough, it seems, because he moves away to look at me sadly.

"I know." He pulls me into a gentle embrace- somewhere in the back of my head, I know this is backwards- _I'm his big brother; he shouldn't have to comfort me. I should be the one holding_

him_. _

"I'm really sorry." He sighs, because we've done this before; _so many times._

"I know, Roxas. I know." And I bury my head in his shoulder, and press myself closer to him, and he tightens his arms around me soothingly. And I'm once again reminded that I've forced

him to grow up faster than he should have had to- because he's my little brother, and I should have taken care of _him, _and not the way it is now.

But I don't cry.

I never cry.

After a time, he releases his hold on me and stands up.

"Roxas… when I leave this time, I'm not coming back." I look up, startled.

"What?" I'm sure I've heard him wrong, because Sora wouldn't do this, he wouldn't abandon me. Not after what happened… right?

"It's just, Roxas, you're fading away! And," he looks away, "I've been letting you. So I'm not going to bring you food anymore."

"…Right." I look away again- I know, now. The roles really have been switched. I'm the little brother now, and it's time for me to grow up.

"If you want food…" -he flinches, this is painful for him, I know- "You'll have to go out and get it." He runs back to me, pulling me into a crushing embrace before he makes his way to the

door once again. I see tears in his eyes, and I can't bring myself to be angry with him.

"I'm sorry, Roxas."  
"I know." And that's it.

He's gone.

"_You'll always look out for me, right, Big Brother?"_

"_Are you crazy? Of course I will."

* * *

_

Hmmm, somehow I feel like that wasn't quite up to my usual caliber... It's probably because I'm sick. (Which is the only reason I have time to finish this.) I was originally going to make it longer, but I really like the ending, and I think I'll save Axel's awesome entrance for the next chapter. Which I'm going to start writing RIGHT NOW. ( I know I promised you some Axel, but you'll have to wait a little bit. Sorry!)

I'm also really sorry if there was any implied SoRoku in there... I didn't plan on it, it just sort of happened. So now, what I had intended to be a heartbreaking brotherly love scene has turned into a chapter full of Star Trek-caliber implied gayness.

Dang, and I wanted to save that for the next chapter.

Maybe Sora has a brother complex?


	3. Chapter 2

I know, I know, I say this a lot.

I am so, so, so. Sorry. The months slipped by me so fast, and it really didn't seem as long as it really… was. Please don't shoot me? You know, to the seven people who're reading this.

On a happier note… HOLY SHIT, SEVEN PEOPLE. (I'm new to this, can you tell?)

I can't believe you guys want to read more of my story… -bliss- I love you guys!

* * *

**Roxas**

* * *

Two weeks later and Sora still hadn't come back. Three weeks later, and I had run out of food. Part of me wants to be pissed at Sora, but deep down… I know he's right.

I sighed, looking around the empty kitchen in dismay. _Dammit._ He was serious when he said he wasn't coddling me anymore. I sighed again, running a hand through my golden locks.

_I guess… it's about time I went shopping.

* * *

_

**Axel**

* * *

_Goddamn, where's the cinnamon in this place? _

The grocery store was practically empty of all life, and as Axel roamed the aisles he wondered vaguely where all the employees had gone. _What, did they all get abducted by aliens? _He huffed impatiently, and leaned against a shelf. _Fuck it- cinnamon can wait._

He moved to push himself off the shelves, but mistakenly put his hand on the shelves' unfortunate _residents_ as opposed to the shelf itself. The objects offered little resistance to his weight, and his arm promptly went through the carefully arranged items, pushing them aside as easily as if they were blades of grass. There was a clatter, and suddenly the floor was littered with fallen containers of… _Well, whaddaya know. _There's_ the cinnamon. _

He bent down, gingerly picking up a jar of the seasoning. _How the fuck did I _miss_ that?_ He carefully made his way to the counter, a little bit shifty after the accident in the aisle. _Hope nobody saw that…_ flashing the lady at the counter a charming smile, he paid for his groceries and walked briskly towards the door.

Halfway out the door, he was hit with the sudden realization that he'd left his wallet on the checkout counter. As he turned around to make his way back inside, he felt something (_someone?_) bounce off of his chest. He glanced down to see the unfortunate blonde boy sprawled unceremoniously on the floor, surrounded by spilt groceries. The way he looked around was strange, Axel noted- as if he'd never seen the world before. _Like a country kid in New York City._ Axel quickly looked around, and then hung his head in resignation with a sigh- he'd lost the cinnamon when the two of them had bumped into each other. _The universe… it's out to get me, I swear._

"Hey, kid," He reluctantly bent down "You okay?"

"I'm… I'm fine." The boy scowled, ducking his head to hide his growing blush.

Axel rolled his eyes (in the most suave fashion, of course) and blew an imaginary strand of hair off of his face, but continued to help the kid pick up his groceries.

* * *

**Roxas**

* * *

I scrambled to pick up the groceries, absolutely horrified that I'd managed to crash into someone on my first day out of the house.

"Hey, kid. You okay?" I muttered a hurried reply, fixing my gaze on the floor with a frown so he wouldn't see how embarrassed I was. I busied myself with snagging an orange that had been rolling away, hoping he would take his leave, but the man seemed intent on helping me.

After we had picked up the spilt groceries, and exchanged some items (somehow he'd ended up with my cereal, and I'd ended up with an abnormally large jar of cinnamon) He accompanied me out the door. I flushed again, realizing that I _didn't have a ride_- in the heat of the moment I'd gathered all my courage and raced out the door to my house. I hadn't even the faintest idea how I was to get home.

Seeming to read my mind, the redhead remarked, "You need a ride or something, kid?"

"N-no, I'm fine."

"…Really?" He raised his eyebrow, his tone disbelieving. "Look, you're staring at the parking lot like the world just ended. You don't have a way home. And although I'm sure you're a good little boy who doesn't get into cars with strangers, this time it might be a good idea."

"E-ex_cuse_ me?" I whipped around to stare at him- how old did this jerk think I was?

"Calling me a little boy isn't going to help your case. I'm old enough to drive, you know."

The redhead just snorted good-naturedly and led me over to a beat-up red car, opening the back trunk and placing his groceries inside.

"C'mon, it's not like I'm some random pedophile that pulled up next to you. Relax a little, you're practically a zombie." I glared at him for a moment, but wordlessly placed my groceries inside the car, stiffly climbing into the front seat.

"I'm Axel, by the way." He stuck out his hand with a grin. I wasn't sure I liked the mischief dancing just behind those green eyes, but I shook his hand anyway.

"Roxas."

_It's nice to meet you.

* * *

_

Hey, guys! I absolutely forgot about this story, HOWEVER, I was at Anime Evolution today (I was Zexion :'D) And I realized- HEY, IT'S AKUROKU DAY! So I rushed home afterwards and finished writing this chapter for all (seven) of you! -love-LOVE- You guys are wonderful xD


End file.
